No Halak for Game 3, Moore says he can play with broken nose and McLellan hints at possible lineup changes for Sharks

The big news from the practice skates today is that Jaroslav Halak definitely is out for St. Louis Monday night when the Sharks-Blues series picks back up at HP Pavilion for Game 3. That means the Sharks will see Brian Elliott again between the pipes.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Halak still is hurting from an undisclosed lower-body injury he suffered when teammate Barret Jackman ran into him in the second period of Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the Sharks.

For most teams, losing a goaltender would be a playoff disaster. Not the Blues. Halak and Elliott combined to allow the fewest number of goals in the NHL this season.

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“We’re lucky because we’ve been in a two-man rotation since Day One here,” Hitchcock said. “You don’t expect something like this to happen. But it does, and we’re lucky to be in this situation. We’re got two good goalies: 1 and 1A. We don’t miss a beat. Both guys have played well in this series. Brian is going to have to play well for us to take the home-ice advantage back again. When you’re on the road, your goalie has to be your best player.”

St. Louis defenseman Kris Russell added that the Blues are comfortable with either goalie.

“That’s been the cornerstone of our team,” Russell said of goaltending. “Both of those guys have been outstanding all year. They’re both competitors and play hard. It’s tough to see a guy like Halak get hurt like that, but it’s great to have someone like Elliott step in the way he did. We have confidence in both of those goalies and that’s why we’re having success.”

Not only did Elliott complete the shutout Saturday, but he also only gave up a pair of goals in two regular-season games against the Sharks.

“We know we can get to him,” countered Sharks forward Joe Pavelski. “There’s definitely chances where we can score.”

*** Sharks coach Todd McLellan hinted that there might be some lineup changes coming for Game 3. But of course he wasn’t about to signal what they might be.

Any alterations, though, likely would be about getting a bigger team on the ice to confront the Blues’ physical play. Obviously among McLellan’s options are Michal Handzus, Brad Winchester and Colin White.

“We have to look at some of the players who we haven’t used yet to see if they’ll make a significant difference,” McLellan said. “We have some size there. But when you give up a little speed for size, the game tempo changes.”

Center Dominic Moore is another player that McLellan also will have available. Moore’s broken nose was badly swollen Sunday after taking a punch from the Blues’ Vladimir Sobotka the night before. But Moore skated at practice Sunday and said he’s ready to play.

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But he wasn’t talking about the incident with Sobotka.

“I really don’t have a lot to say on the matter, to be honest,” Moore said of the punch.

Surprisingly, Hitchcock said it would be wrong for anyone to assume that he would be sticking with the same lineup of skaters that provided the shutout victory Saturday.

“We’re a team of 26,” he said. “If we’ve got to use them all, we’ll use them all. That’s an advantage for us. If we think it makes us better, we’ll make a change again. We’re an organization that’s not afraid of change.”

There was another good quote today from Hitchcock, who is an incredibly thoughtful and quotable coach, that I thought would interest Working The Corners readers. He talked about the importance of Saturday’s victory for his relatively inexperienced team.

“For our younger players, yesterday was their very first playoff win,” he said. “I can’t describe the difference in confidence in people when you know you can win a playoff game. I won’t call it a strut, but you feel better about yourself. Winning in the regular season is one thing, but winning in the playoffs is what all players live for. Hopefully there’s more to come.”

*** The print edition stories, including a really good Tim Kawakami column, are filled with the reaction to Saturday’s fight-fest. They are going to be posted on our Web site shortly, so I’m not going to repeat all that here.

But both McLellan and Hitchcock didn’t seem too surprised that the NHL home office decided not to dish out any suspensions for the various questionable hits and incidents that occurred in Game 2. Instead, the clear message from both teams Sunday is that they are moving on.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be a repeat of any nastiness Monday. Only that the focus is on winning the game, not any kind of payback.

“It doesn’t matter whether I’m OK with that or not,” McLellan said of no disciplinary action by the league. (Remember, McLellan was particularly livid about the punch Moore took.) “Decisions have been made and we have to move on.”

Added Hitchcock: “It’s yesterday’s news. All this stuff about message-sending, it never works anyway. This time of year there’s only one payback. Win the hockey game. There’s no retribution other than play to win.”

Question, what seed 1 – 8 in either conference has gone on to win the most Stanley Cups?

Keep of the good work
Thanks

Southlake

Yikes. Can we get back to playing hockey? It seems like Shanny really blew it by not suspending Weber. Things are getting a bit out of control, and more physical than they need to be. Really disappointed in the elbow Burns threw. The Galiardi charge was crappy but so was two men on, etc. Nowhere near as bad as the battle for PA or some of the other series, but as a whole, the games are getting a bit ridiculous.

I think both teams are fantastically gifted, and would much rather just see them playing good, clean, hard hitting legal hockey.

We gave that game away by playing so poorly in the 2nd, but it wasn’t as much of a blow out as the scoreboard suggested. When we play our best, I think we’re a better team than STL. But, on the average night, it seems like they outplay us. This series could easily go to either team.

We really need to get all cylinders firing. Hopefully home ice can light a good fire. I think last night was a bad loss, but I’m happy we at least split the away games. Admittedly, I’m hoping we sweep the home series.

I think Game 3 decides the series. The Sharks looked good in Game 1, and eked out a victory. Game 2 looked like the regular season all over again: St. Louis dominated play and shut the Sharks out.

I don’t care if people decided to throw punches after the game — I care if the Sharks show up with attitude, and a plan for beating the Blues’ defense.

And it’s too late for moral victories — like playing well, having something to build on, etc. It’s the playoffs. Win, put the pressure on St. Louis, and you have a fighting chance. Lose, let them get confidence, and you’re running on a tightrope wearing slippers in the snow (thanks to Ian Anderson for that image).

Also, if you’ve ever wanted to see the definition of a goalie stealing a win for his team, that was Rinne in the third. He was unbelievable as the Predators hung on to beat Detroit. The Wings took it to them, keeping them penned in in their own zone for almost the whole period. They looked like they were on the power play for long stretches of the period, but Rinne stole the show and the game. Wow, wow, wow.

Yeah, that rivalry got real ugly in the regular season before the playoffs ever started.

Stanley’s Cup

I would say Vandy and White in, Braun and Demers out. I was actually surprised Braun got pushed around and hammered…..he is a very good player.

Leave the lines alone though, as we need the speed. I think just Thorton and a few others being more physical will take care of what’s needed.

Owen

Kesler takes monster dive!!

slappy

Stevo@5
“Contrary to the exaggerations and slanted reporting by most,”
Spoken with such certainty. No “imho” even? Interesting.

David Pollak

Stevo,

Toasted ravioli consumed, but no meals on The Hill; off-nights spent in establishments that offered us multiple TV screens tuned to hockey, not baseball. Can now add Flannery’s (on Washington) to recommended hangouts in STL, by the way.

David

P.S. Not sure all noticed, but this thread had Mark Emmons’ name at the top. I had the luxury of a pure travel day (well, that and finishing up the monthly expense forms).

MLBSF

LA scores

Vancouver in trouble.

😀

MamaShark

Thanks Mark for the update!

Just wanted to see if the KINGS (who I usually despise) can pull out the win and go in front 3-0. Nice to see the Canucks go out in the first round. So many great games!

Can’t wait for the Shark game tomorrow night. We need to see our big money players make some great plays!!!!! I know they are trying and they must come back bigger and faster. Nemo has been solid and I know my boy Marty is going to continue to play like the champ he is. Just waiting for 12, 8, 39 and 29 to hit the back of the net.

I hope they stay strong and close or I will drink much to much. BE LOUD if you are attending…

GO SHARKS!!!!!!!!

MLBSF

Wow.

The two favorites (Vancouver & Pittsburgh) both down 3-0

Brutal shirt at Staples Center tonight. Did you see it behind the Vancouver bench?

“Sedin Sisters. Two girls, no Cups”

Ouch.

Tifososquali

nice job by our adversaries to the south….good old Darryl doing a great job with the Kings, and having Quick in net is obviously a great thing for them.
Schneider was pretty spectacular too, he had no chance on the King’s goal.
Brown wore the C like a committed captain.

Hatrick Marleau

Bye Bye Vancouver. Maybe next year Martin Brody.

homer

0-3 couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch of whiners. I hated the Kings a week ago, but now I’m ready for them to finish off the nyucks. Go Kings! And more importantly, go Sharks!

Poetic Appreciation

Gotta hand it to the Kings. Evidently for the Cannucks, one Sedin is the equivalent of no Sedins. And is the NHL still running that commercial that mentions Loungo standing on his head? Cindy Crosby still the poster boy? Ovi, did you Veni Vidi Vici?

Kinda nice how everything turns on its head this year during the playoffs. The Cannucks might be eating potato chips on the sofa and watching hockey for the next month and the ‘beloved’ Penguins doing the same? Wow.

And this means the Sharks can take control of their destiny and make it work. There’s no real reason why they can’t get three more wins and advance.

Hatrick Marleau

I haven’t been impressed by the Blues. They are like the Coyotes. They wait for you to make a mistake and then they pounce on it. Once they get the lead they trap. It is a goalie friendly system. They are very beatable. Their whole game revolves around getting the lead. Of they get behind they have to stray from their system. If they didn’t use this defensive system they would have missed the playoffs. It is a great system for teams with no talent. It requires hard work and good defense. It works for the Blues and Coyotes. It won’t get you a cup though. The only reason Brian Elliot is doing good is for the same reason Mike Smith is. They are playing in defensive systems. Mike Smith was bad on the Lightning. Brian Elliot was bad on the Senators.

Hatrick Marleau

Poetic Appreciation,

This is the first year I really feel confident about future matchups. Last year the Canucks scared me. The year before I was scared of the Blackhawks. Before that I was afraid of the Red Wings. This year no team scares me.

GDub

What a ridiculous day of crazy playoff hockey!

I have to say, I understand that they need to crackdown on real honest-to-god headshots, but the new focus and crackdown has everyone grabbing thier heads after every hit. Which has teammates feeling the need to scramble in there. No matter how clean the hit is, if it rings a guy’s bell, there now all this crazyness. They have check the guy out…and all that. Take the hit on Alfredsson. A few years ago, that guy hit the ground, gathered himself, and hopped up.

I’m not sure what the answer is because career ending head injuries were endangering the game….but this new wave of “hold your head every time you are hit” …well it has to stop before our sport ends up like soccer.

GDub

wow that was some horrible grammar…excuse the smart phone quality entry…

ZEKE

That was a classic t-shirt MLB, especially if you get the ummm ‘reference’.

Can’t believe the refs didn’t call the Kesler dive. That was ridiculous, but it’ll keep happening until the refs decide they don’t want to look like fools.

LAK, actually Quick, steals another game and its 3-0. Guess they are pretty happy they drew Vancouver after all. Maybe they send Clowe a thank you note?

Iafrate

slappy-

still think we got the better draw than LA? i thought you said the other Sedin was coming back? what happened to your sources?

although there is no way to tell, i know. Quick is a beast. Richards, Carter, Dustin Brown have been extremely effective in the first 3 games just like our guys have be…………….

Hatrick-

what do the Blues need to do to impress you? 5-1 with 3 shutouts against sharks, and 1.5 GAA and 2.5 Goals for in the playoffs in the first 2 games.

you are a tough critic. If the Sharks had those stats I would be extremely impressed…and I think you would probably be too.

MLBSF

@27

The Sharks have played 12 periods at the Scott Trade Center in St. Louis, and the Blues have shut out the Sharks in 10 of those periods.

Four games in St. Louis and the Sharks have been shut out in three of them. Not one single goal.

Yet Hatrick is unimpressed and feels the Blues are not just beatable, but “very” beatable.

I agree they are, but just not by the Sharks in a 7 game series. I fully expect the Sharks to win at least one more game, but not three out of the next five.

The Sharks better win one game in San Jose or else it is lights out in game 5 in St. Louis. I would start by winning tonight.

jt

Are you counting the goal they didn’t score, and the final PP goal that would not have happened if the goal they didn’t score didn’t happen?

rogrrr

Has everyone already forgotten that it was Dominic Moore’s brother Steve that had his head driven into the ice by Todd Bertuzzi? And that he never played again? I sincerely hope that all this 1st round nonsense by all the teams, not just the Sharks/Blues, gets worked out without anyone getting beheaded…

SactoShark

Braun got owned in that fight and had there been more time left, he would of not been able to continue. (actually every Shark but Boyle did not fare well)

St Louis papers reported Braun’s eye was swollen shut a few minutes after the fight.

here we go with the new math again. And those shirts have been around for years – one only had to watch some prior year PO games to notice

benny2

Keep Demers in with White, Braun out ,

benny2

Braun was dominated, the intimidation factor is now in affect , keep him out please…….

Jeffy

I think this has been one of the worst years for officiating in modern memory (I suppose we always say that). But you could see in game 2, the lack of calls of the most blatant stuff is what lead to the fights at the end. Put your whistles away, sure, but you have to call the real stuff.

Sharks played poorly and did not have much sustained zone time. While they were robbed on a couple of great saves, they also failed to put away some easy ones as well. having an own goal in the first two minutes did not help.

I exspect them to be better and I expect to see Colin White at least in the line up tonight. we need some playoff harden guys in there, I guess. I’d hate to see them down 2-1 or 3-1.

Go SHARKS!!!!!!

D Willy must go

Okay, Today is the day!!!!

Let’s go all Sharks fans, The Tank needs to get LOUD tonight!!!!

I want to see some bloodied up Blues Players. Time for the BIG guys to step up tonight. We need to go back to St. Louis up 3-1 in the series.

Hatrick Marleau

Iafrate,

In this series, they haven’t impressed me. What they did in the regular season has impressed me.

Hatrick Marleau

I agree with the posts about fighting after big hits. I don’t get why players need to fight after every hit. Getting hit hard is hockey. You have goons like Asham and Carkner running around being dirty. How Carkner wasn’t suspended for the playoffs and then some surprises me. He mugged a guy and gets 1 game…WHAT A JOKE! Asham needs to be suspended 15 games. What he did was dirty.

Doug H

If anyone remembers the LA series, clowe pretty much destroyed Clifford and GE cane back the next game and dominated us. 4 points i think. Taking Braun out unless he can’t see would be a mistake.

bsman

From some of these posts, am I hearing that Colin White is going to be our savior????? My head hurts….

kingfish100

What worries me is that with the Sharks’ only playing one goalie we have no idea what might happen to this team should Niemi get knocked out, all we could do is cross our fingers because we’d have to bring in cold, non experienced bench warmer, Greiss. He looked good in regular season but like his team we never have any idea what will show up (Greiss in a PO game). Leaving a goalie on the bench all year is like wasting a position on the team which can be doomsday in the playoffs. Had Greiss played in 20-30 games Sharks would be a better overall team and that could very well be the difference in this series. Under these circumstances I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Blues target Niemi and crash the net hoping to see what Greiss is all about.

If the Sharks lose this series I’ll sell at least 60% of my season tickets next year. In the last 10 years this team has become an expensive financial tease. Sharks had plenty of chances in game 2 with zero success and Pee Wee type shooting accuracy while the Blues had an answer for EVERYTHING the Sharks threw out, including punches. Getting beat by a Blues team with less talent is never acceptable and the Blues seem to have our number as well as a smarter goalie strategy.

I’ll continue to root like crazy like I have since the beginning but what remains the same is we never have the slightest idea what team will show up. Actually believe we would fare much better VS the Red Wings or Bruins. GO SHARKS!!!!!

Long Time No Cup

This weekend was a total embarrassment to the NHL and very sad for a hockey fan interested in seeing the game become something more than a minor niche sport.

There were more horse’s asses on the ice and in the booth anywhere outside of a grade-B rodeo, which I u nderstand is coming to either NBC-Universal or the History Channel in a couple of weeks.

The multiple pointless fights, the excruciatingly bad officiating–not just for the mayhem they didn’t call, but for how they made up for it with the rigorous enforcement of phantom “point of emphasis” calls. Ouch.

Maybe it’s part of the NHL’s modified concussion protocol: get rid of calling headshots and doctor evaluation and quiet-room; substitute “my-god-I-must-be-seeing-things-that-ref-just-called-THAT-a-penalty-I’m-going-to-go-lie-down.” Throwing out Dubinsky for FTII when a player was pounding on his not-responding teammate? Great technical understanding of the rules, not an ounce of common sense, especially when compared to the FTIs not being called in the Blues-Sharks fiasco.

Maybe the worst is the way cross-promotion has so permeated NBC-Universal that they put The Three Stooges onto the set of the intermission report. Liam (Brodie Brazil likes Liam because Liam makes Brodie look studly), Milbury, and Keith Jones were sickening in their attempts to justify the utter foolishness in Philadelphia. Only mercy was they didn’t have The Incredible Dope on on Sunday.

And so many of the players–talented players, not just the expected goons–pissing away years of projecting humility, skill, and bravery in exchange for nasty ineffectual laughably inept punching (except when they could get a prone opponent or an opponent with totally bound arms and head. Then they start to flail around like someone with an anthill down his shirt.

And I hope Shanahan is getting interest on the blind trust they made him put his integrity and manhood in when he took his job. One game for Carkner?

Long Time No Cup

Hey, Sharks are not as fast as Blues. They need to make CHANGES IN THE LINEUP. Let’s put in Colin White, Brad Winchester, and Jim Vandemeer. Yeah, that’s the ticket–that will speed things up.

Southlake

stevo- No ledges for me. I’m just trying to say that in any sport, competetive players will always play to the very edge of what’s legal. It seems that the edge of legal has been set pretty far out this playoff season. And I think that basing decisions on the extent of injury will lead to more diving, head-holding etc. as players feel they can get an advantage through theatrics and feigned injuries. (Speaking of diving, these playoffs have only reinforced my hatred of the Canucks, never thought I’d say it but Go LA!)

PIT/PHI was going to get down and dirty regardless of the calls, agreed. But, the extent is still a bit surprising, no? Watching the Penguins become absolutely unglued has been entertaining as heck though. Not to mention, 12 goals gives you plenty of action to watch.

renoshark

“Getting beat by a Blues team with less talent is never acceptable and the Blues seem to have our number as well as a smarter goalie strategy.”

kingfish100,

This Blues team has better overall talent, speed and depth than we do IMO. And they’re younger. They’ll be a force in the West for as long as Hitch is around.

Buddy Elf

Wow… what alternate universe is this?

MLBSF is happy that an LA team is winning?

MLBSF, the president of the Penguins fan club, is happy they are down 3-0?

Man this guy flip flops about everything.

Like Sacto said, that shirt’s been around a long time. MLBSF just started watching playoff hockey, so I’ll give him a pass.

Johnny San Jose

Hey Poller — Heard you on KNBR. Nice job! I don’t think Murph and Mac have their heads wrapped around hockey with their lack of questions outside of fighting. I thought you did a good job in steering them in the right direction.

Now… Other than Pavelski, Thornton needs to use his big butt and drive to the net which will draw at least two defenders toward him and hope for a richochet or be able to pass a quick one off to Marleau who should also be going to the “dirty areas”. This needs to happen.

Logan has been kept to the outside and so has Clowe. We need guys driving to the net. Hell, if Burns wants to do it, that’s fine with me too. My point is that we need to create havoc in front of Elliot and cash in on net-mouth scrambles.

Thanks for listening to “Johnny San Jose’s Keys to the Game.”

Tom (fm Quinzee)

LTNC – by “The Incredible Dope” you’re not referring to our homie, one former SJ Shark named Roenick? Nah, couldn’t be dissing JR. I didn’t watch a lot of the NBC coverage, so I don’t know who or what they were babbling about.

Now, I agree w/ both you and GDub about this macho nonsense and Shanahan non-calls. The League is either serious about dealing w/ concussions or let’s just go back to the Broad Street Bullies days. But then please change the name of this from “The National Hockey League” to “The Extreme Ice Fighting by Macho Morons League” and be honest about what the product is.

And gotta go back to a comment a thread or two back about JR by GP – you lose a lot of credibility by calling JR gutless – even in sarcasm. You can call him a lot of things – insane, lunatic (GDub’s description which I agree with), but gutless? No – he is the anti-Marleau in that regard, and that is in fact probably the main reason Doug Wilson brought him to SJ. To set an example, which was lost on far too many of his teammates, including the all-time Sharks leader in every category, including most especially “never reaching the Stanley Cup Finals with all the talent in the world.”

When Drew Remenda calls you out during a game for mailing it in, you’re really setting an example for lack of effort. And Drew has done that with Marleau before, against Detroit in the playoffs two years ago when TMac took him off the PP. Remenda – “he doesn’t deserve power play minutes.”

I guess I’ll go back to the skip-rope-a-dope, the puck ends up in the Sharks net goal – GP, for all the excuses and contingencies you come up with for that – it started w/ Marleau refusing to sacrifice his body to block a shot. Everything else was irrelevant. He screened his goalie and didn’t do the one thing he HAD to do in that situation. So, a number one seed went down 2-0 (first 2 goals, and at the end of the game, 2 games) and was on the way to the beach. That’s Marleau’s leadership.

nolimits

You gotta love being a hockey fan right now. I truly believe that Shannahan had a major brain fart by not suspending Weber and opened the door to what we are all witnesssing now. I just hope no one is seriously injured moving forward. Although pretty entertaining at times, it’s embarrassing for the league as someone has already mentioned I believe.

Couple other things you gotta love…Kings and Flyers taking 3-0 leads against the cup favorites!

On a side note…did you hear me screaming across the country yesterday? LOL! Ah well, hopefully some luck will come the Wings’ way.

Good luck tonight SJ!

Snow Shovel

nolimits – I thought for sure Detroit would even the score in the third yesterday. I was disappointed, too.

Agree with all the comments about the sad state of affairs with all the fights.

My recommendations:

1. Penalties incurred at the end of or after a game would be enforced in the next game that team plays, no matter who the opponent was.

2. Punches thrown at a player when that player is down on the ice would result in a mandatory $20,000 fine and a 4-game suspension with no appeal.

3. Fire Bettman.

Mike

Perfect — TMAC is bringing out the heavyweights (Zeus and Chester) which will compromise some of the speed. Is that a concession to the fact that the Blues have the upper hand in the physicality department?